Light in the Dark
by poisonousandglib
Summary: 100 AU set in the present. Clarke Griffin needs a place to hide. All the money in the world can not protect her from the wrath of her jilted fiance. Luckily her friend John Murphy knows exactly where to stash her but there are some conditions. She had to hid who she is and what she is to Survive on the mean streets of Arkadia. Bellarke slowburn M for later chapters
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Murphy knew something was wrong the moment Clarke Griffin did not show up for breakfast. The little blonde girl was nothing if not predictable. Every morning at 8 am she came into the dinner where he worked and ordered an egg white omelet with dry rye toast. It was a ritual and one Murphy had begun to look forward to. She'd come in with her big eyes and big ideals and they'd talk about everything under the sun.

When she didn't show up that morning Murphy got worried. It wasn't like he could just leave work and go searching the city for her however. The more time that passed, the more worried the boy got. He didn't have much in his life for friends and Clarke was basically like family to him now. When his past threatened to show up out of no where she was the person he turned to. When he thought he had knocked up that girl again Clarke offered her support to him. He had never really had that before.

It was nearing the end of his shift and she still hadn't come in or texted him to let him know and he couldn't handle it anymore. He scrolled through his texts, praying her address was still in their conversation from the time she invited him over to hang with her and her fiancé. He nearly exclaimed with joy when he found it.

"Allie!" He called out to his boss. An up tight twig of a woman who only ever seemed to look at him with distain and now was no different. Still despite how she treated him he knew she would not question him needing to leave early. "I think Clark might be in trouble so I'm leaving early today. Think you can handle it?" He questioned. Thought for the last hour and a half only 2 people had come into the dinner. They were in their lull and Embry was due to be in at any moment.

Allie merely waved him off. Clarke was a favorite around this place. Even Allie with her heart made of ice could refuse nothing if it was for Clarke. The Dinner didn't even make egg white omelets till the girl came around. That was just apart of the girls charm. She was all optimism and sunshine in a way that made her impossible to resist.

Quickly as he could, Murphy ripped off the apron he had been wearing and grabbed his jacket. It might only be September but the cold was coming. And after 2 years living in new York he still wasn't use to the cold. It was never like this in Arkadia.

He took off like a bullet. He had been carless for as long as he's lived here as it always seemed impossible to him to get around the city while driving. Today however he wished he had his own car if only to get to the east end quicker.

He expected a pretty nice apartment. Clarke just oozed grace and good upbringing but what Murphy hadn't expected was the penthouse of the most beautiful building he had ever seen. The Doorsman almost didn't let him in, until he said gave his name. Apparently Clarke had told the man to let him in whenever he came by. He'd have to thank her for that as it could be useful later on. Not that he really planned on coming back to this building. Everyone coming and going gave him the stank eye. Dressed in his worn down jeans and work shirt he definitely did not belong among the higher class. It amazed him that a girl like Clarke, even with her Grace and poise, could live in a place like this. She seemed so down to earth.

He pounded on her door, not bothering to keep quiet but no one answered. He stood knocking for five minuetes at a loss of what else to do. Despite knowing better he tried the knob, it was unlocked, and walked in.

This is a stupid idea, He chided himself as he walked through the apartment which shouldn't even be called an apartment. It was twice the size of the house he had lived in growing up. Paintings hung on almost every wall, nothing he recognized and he bet if he looked he would find they were one of a kind pieces. Not stock artwork for this girl.

Even her knick nacks on her shelves were far better then anything he had ever had. Gold plated and made of crystal. God he felt like such a creeper walking through her apartment like this.

Then he heard it. The unmistakeable sounds of sobbing. He ran through the apartment to find the source, when he finally found her in the kitchen.

The scene was something out of his childhood. She sat on the floor, curled up into a ball. Choas lay in her wake. The kitchen was a mess, pots, pans, and utelscils were scattered haphazardly all over the place. He knocked into a pot, Kicking it across the kitchen. He cursed himself, he use to be sneakier.

The sound Jerked her blond little head up. Gasps and pleas escaping her lips as she held a knife out.

"Please, no." she whined, tears streaming down her face. The moment her grey eyes fell on him however the knife dropped from her hands and she launched herself at him. It took everything in Murphy to catch her and make sure the 2 of them did not go down in the process.

He saw the bruises on her face, and the fat cut lip before she burrowed her head into his shoulder and cried even harder, letting everything loose from inside her. Never having been in this position before Murphy didn't exactly know what to do. So he simply held her like he wished someone would have held him when he was in a similar position as a kid. It didn't take a genious to figure out what had happened here.

It took a long while for her to calm down. Her eyes kept darting to the door as if waiting for her worse nightmare to come back at any moment. When she could finally talk without sobbing she told him the whole story.

"It wasn't always like this." She started out, her voice rought and raw from all the crying. She didn't sound a thing like the girl Murphy had grown to love like a sister. Her grey eyes red and bloodshot but at least she was no longer crying. She laughed, it was bitter sounding, and quite frankly it fit the situation. "that's what everyone says right? 'It wasn't always like this.' 'He's a good guy, I just make him mad.' 'It's not his fault.'"

Murphy let her speak feeling like she needed it more then he needed to know what happened.

"God I'm an idiot." Murphy kept his mouth shut though he was slightly inclined to believe her words. He was a bit heartless like that. Product of growing up in a soulless place like Arkadia. "I can't keep doing this. I can't keep fearing for my life and running away from him isn't going to be good enough. He'll find me. He's a prideful man. He won't take me leaving well. He'll see it as the worse kind of slight. I need to disappear." She sighed, leaning back against the couch.

The next words out of Murphys mouth he knew he was going to regret.

"I can help you with that."

"What?" She exclaimed, disbelief in her eyes. Her head snapped to attention. He shouldn't even be thinking this. He had been run out of Arkadia by the Mountain Men and this girl obviously had enough money to help her hide for a long time. She didn't need his help. Still with her looking up at him with those large stormy eyes he could deny her nothing.

"I know a place where he could not find you and even if he did it would not matter. Arkadia. It's where I'm from."

"The nightmare place you always talk about?" she questioned with a scrunch of her nose. She actually listened to him when he talked. That was refreshing. He simply nodded, a smile was too much to expect from him when talking about his home town.

"Yeah, It's pretty Lawless but that means Mr. Law Enforcer wont be able to touch you there. The problem is that women are not wellrecieved. They are either whores, strippers, or homeless heathens. To truly hid you we might have to disguise you as a man." It was a joke, though it wasn't far off. Arkadia was a hellish nightmare for men but it was definitely worse for woman. He wasn't even sure why he was bringing it up. A girl like Clarke could never survive there.

"Okay." Her curt response surprised him. He looked her over, trying to decipher her meaning.

"Okay?"

"Can we leave now?" She questioned, looking hopeful. Murphy had no intention of ever going back to that place. He had left Arkadia and who he had been in the past the moment he stepped into New York and yet he knew it was the only place that could save this girl. He was weak for her and knew he'd do anything she asked.

"If you are serious meet me at the dinner at midnight. Pack light, only what you need and nothing else." He offered before standing up off her couch. If this was happening he had some loose ends he needed to tie up. He really didn't want to leave her here by herself but the placed he had to go a girl like Clarke should never have to grace with her presence.

She nodded her head. Her curly blond locks bouncing up and down with the movement. She looked dejected but he'd worry about that later. For now. If he really was going back to Arkadia he needed to have something so that he was not shot on sight.

Murphy sulked outside the Dinner at 11:55. Everything he owned in the knapsack on his back but the little special delivery he had had to leave Clarke in order to get. His heart raced as he paced in the darkness of the shadows. She wasn't coming. Of course. She thought of a better way out of her predicament and didn't need him anymore. It was barely 12:05 when he turned to leave and go back to his apartment.

"John." He heard his name in hushed whispers. "John?"

He stepped out of the shadws and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

She pressed a hand to her chest and gasped at his sudden appearance. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"since when do you call me John?" He asked ignoring the properness of her statement. That would definitely be something he would have to talk to her about. She'd never pass for a hooligan with sentence structure like that. And her voice was so feminine. Another thing he would have to bring up with her if they were going to pass her off as a boy.

"Since I thought it would be better to say in the dark. John could be anyone. Murphy however can just be you." She responded, a quip on her lips. She was quick on her feet. That would definitely work in their favor.

He gave her a once over. Racking his brain as he thought about how they were going to pull this off. Her boobs were going to be a problem, but everything else he could work with.

"Come with me. I'm going to show you how to hot wire a car."

A/N:

This is the only part that will be in Murphy's POV. Hopefully you like their friendship as much as I do


	2. Transformation

**Chapter One**

It had been a week since they had left New York and Clarke was exhausted. She hadn't been sleeping. Between trying to absorb all the information Murphy had given her and being terrified that at any moment Finn could be behind them on the highway there was just no way sleep was going to come to her. She had learned a lot from her Friend. How to walk and talk like a boy. Things she never would have thought about on her own. The boy even taught her things she never thought she would need to learn. How to hot wire a car, how to throw a decent punch, and even pick locks. Not that that last one had been much use of her so far, but she had actually successfully hotwired the car they were currently driving in.

"So Bellamy Blake and Lincoln Triku run Arkadia." He explained as she continued to drive. They had spent the first 3 days headed west before they finally stared driving south. It had seemed stupid and pointless to her to go West when South was what they had wanted but Murphy told her they needed to make sure their destination was not obvious. She didn't mind much, just like she didn't mind needing to switch cars every six hours. Being followed and caught before they even got to Arkadia would be a travesty.

"Right, okay and Blake has a sister yeah? The only girl in town that is protected by the gangs because she is under Blake's protection?" She muttered, pulling the information out of her brain. Murphy had been drilling this stuff into her head the last few days. As if arming her with this information could save her life. She didn't see how but she'd trust Murphy. If he thought she needed to know the in and out of Arkadia before arriving she'd absorb it.

"That and she's kind of a bad ass. No one would dare mess with her. She's got the spirit of a fighter and had proved herself in the cage against guys three times her size." There was admiration in Murphy's voice as he talked about the girl, and maybe a little fear. Though with what she had learned about the girl, Clarke couldn't fault him for that. The girl sounded terrifying. Clarke would hate to get on the her bad side. "Pull over real quick." He said suddenly His arm jutting out into her line of vision as he pointed to the side of the road. Her reflexes were shot and the sudden movement nearly gave her a heart attack.

She quickly did as he told. Pulling over on the dusty road. They had left the higway 30 minuetes ago and hadn't seen a single soul on this road since then. It was a bit eerie. She felt like they were headed on the back roads to hell.

"We have 10 minutes before we are in town. It's time." He merely said reaching into the backseat and pulling out a pair of scissors. She stared at them with trepidation. She knew it was necessary and needed but she loved her hair. Loved the long bouncy girls and the soft feeling of it hanging around her shoulders.

"Anyway I can pass it off with a man bun?" She questioned, hopeful. Looking up at him with pleading eyes. He face was all hard lines and a serious tilt. She wondered if it was possible for her friend to laugh.

"It still has to be shorter. It's far too feminine right now. Come on Clarke. You knew this was coming."

He was right. She had known this was coming but it didn't make it any easier. Reluctantly she took the scissors from his hand and began whacking away at her beautiful locks. It was sad to see them go.

"How do I look?" she asked with a sigh when she finished. It was still longer then most boys she had known wore it but short enough that she could throw it up and look like a hipster wanna be with an atrocious man bun.

"You could pass for a dude. Just don't let anyone get too close to you. If someone gets in your bubble they will most certainly notice the boobs we've been trying so hard to hide." He teased. She reached out and punched the boy in the arm. A soft scarlet blush creeping up on her cheeks. She had never paid much attention to the size of her breasts before this whole thing and now she was acutely aware of just how large her chest was. Disguising one's self as a boy seemed so much easier in Mulan and She's the man. Why couldn't it be that easy in real life?

"Now start driving and remember do not stop for any reason until we get to the Drop ship." Clarke turned the screwdriver jammed into the ignition again and the old car sputtered back to life. She nodded her head, one hand on the wheel as the other pulled her hair into a haphazard bun on the back of her head.

The Drop Ship. He had told her about the club the night before. Bellamy Blake bought it about 6 years ago. It had been just a little run down disgusting club in the heart of the city. Everything went down there. It was the place the lowest of the low hung out to conduct business. Prostitutes found their johns, drugs and weapons sale took place in the back rooms. But according to Murphy since Blake took over it had changed. Bad stuff still happened there as it was the head of his operations but it was more dignified. That last remark made no sense to Clarke. How could something be dignified if Illegal things were happening there?

It was easy to tell when they crossed into the city line. Run down houses started popping up. Building with boarded up windows were being walked into by some of the shadyiest people Clarke had even seen in her life. For a girl who had spent the majority of her life on the Upper East Side this place was a culture shock to her. A single cop car seemed to be patrolling the place but it ignored half of the things it probably should have pulled over for. Drugs being sold on a street corner. A fight breaking out in front of the liquor store. Clarke couldn't even imagine the kinds of things that were being conducted in the dark where she could not see.

The Drop ship was different though. She could tell even before she pulled into the parking lot. Everything around it seemed to come out of a movie about Detriot. Scary and abondened but the Drop Ship was shinny. It seemed like it didn't belong in this dinky town but somewhere else. Not New York because it wasn't quite that fancy but maybe Chicago.

The dark glass reflected the sun and pulled your attention but it was modern architecture that challenged Gravity that was most impressive. The swoopy lines that made Clarke think back to high school biology and parts of a cell. Mitochondria, the word popped into head. The building reminded her of that and she couldn't help but smile softly at the meaning. The mitochondria was the power house of a cell and The Drop ship was the power in this town. She wondered if that was intentional.

"Hurry. Blake and Lincoln will know we arrived." Murphy said. With a last deep breath, Clarke took the baseball cap she had bought at a truck stop a day ago and shuffled inside. Careful not to walk too gracefully, limiting the shake of her hips that she hadn't realized was automatic until Murphy pointed it out 2 days ago.

She longed to reach for her friends hand. To Quell the nervous energy she was feeling with his touch, but that was not something a boy her age would do and the squashed those feelings deep inside.

A skinny little man stood at the door. A hardened expression on his face as he stared down at the 2 of them. For a place that was supposedly well-guarded, the guard dog didn't seem so scary.

"Bellamy is expecting you." His tone conveyed nothing and his words were a little more creepy then Clarke had been expecting. Bellamy was expecting them. She couldn't imagine the type of network the big bad Blake had if he already knew they were there after driving through town for five minutes.

"Thanks Monty." Murphy grunted as he pushed the big glass door open, ushering Clarke inside first. He always did that. For the past week he made sure to always be at her backside. She couldn't even start to imagine why, but there had to be a reason for it right?

The 2 of them weaved through the opening. Moving around the interior like a maze. She was actually pretty disappointed. The inside did not match the outside. It was dark of course, and nice but it lacked the flair she thought the exterior promised.

Then they turned the corner and the room opened up into something else. Her eyes widened. She couldn't focus on any one thing long enough to take it all in. It was magnificent. She could almost ignore the seething rage that was threatening to come up. Almost.

It hit her in the face though. This place was gorgeous and well furnished. Whoever had built this place certainly had expensive tastes and she couldn't stand it. After driving through that town and seeing the people struggling this place felt indecent. If they had all this money to put in a fricken Crytsaline chandelier they could afford a bit to fix up the city they resided in. This kind of blatant display of money had always bugged her. She would never understand the need to wave money around like it made you a better person. The only reason her apartment in New York had been decorated as it had been was because of Finn. She would have been happy with minimal furniture and only keeping things that were useful.

"Hey." Murphy muttered under his breath as they walked further and further inside the club. "Whatever is going through your mind right now, let it go." He warned. Clarke tried but it wasn't easy. This type of ostentatious behavior was why she had never fit in with the debutantes and children in her childhood her parents tried to get her to be close to. She couldn't stand it.

She glanced around looking for the Illustrious Bellamy Blake. If he had been expecting them it would stand to reason that he would actually be around. Her searching for the man didn't last long once she saw the fountain in the corner. How had she missed that.

She walked over to it, a hard line set on her face. God it looked like it belonged in some Italian city. She turned and opened her mouth to complain to Murphy when she saw him. He came out of nowhere. Appearing in the middle of the room like a spirit summoned by a Ouija board.

He didn't look like the Devil, as Murphy had described him.

"Bellamy, My man." Murphy said in greeting. Approaching the new man with open arms. So that was Blake. He wasn't at all what Clarke had been expecting. He didn't look like he belonged in a place like this. He wasn't polished or put together. His dark hair was unrulily and there was a definet 5 o'clock shadow gracing his features. If she looked hard enough she bet she'd see dried blood on his knuckles. He looked like the type of man who didn't shy away from a fight. Which made sense considering what Murphy had told her about him. Wicked Temper but fiercely loyal. Loyal she could handle, the tempura she wasn't so sure. Finn had a tempura and the 2 of them had seen how well she handled that.

The boys hugged the way boys do, awkward and fumbling and the moment they broke apart. Blake's eyes landed on her. This was it, a make or break it moment. She felt like his dark eyes were searching into her soul. Oh God, he was going to know before she even said anything. He was going to know she was a girl.

"Who's this Murphy? Your boyfriend?" The man smirked, teasing her friend. Clarke Kept quiet, remembering another thing Murphy had told her on the drive up. 'Don't speak unless spoken to' that would be a rule easy enough to follow. Finn had a similar rule. Though she never followed it to his satisfaction.

Murphy just laughed, it was light and airy. Clarke felt like she was seeing a different side to her friend. He had always been stoic and serious but now he actually seemed light hearted. Maybe coming back here wouldn't be as bad for him as she thought it would.

"Fuck you Bells." He said with a grin, pushing the older man back a few feet. Blake didn't seem to mind. He ran a hand through his hair and smirked again, his eyes still on Clarke. "This is my cousin, Clark."

"Clark Murphy?" He asked dumbfounded. Still Clarke Kept her mouth shut. She just nodded. It was something She and Murphy had discussed. Clarke was a male name and it would be easier for her to respond to then thinking up a brand new one just for this. "And I thought My name was bad."

She couldn't help but crack a smile. Luckily the dark hair man's attention wavered. His searching gaze no longer on her but on Murphy instead. "What are you doing here Murphy? The mountain men ran you out of here after that incident with Cage's sister I thought." The information peaked Clarke interest. She had known Murphy hadn't exactly left on the greatest terms but he never talked about the exact reason he had to leave.

He glanced over her shoulder giving her a look that told her not to ask. It killed her inside. She so needed to know what had happened but she'd never do anything to make her friend uncomfortable. He had done so much for her, it was the least she could do not to dig into his past. It didn't matter anyway. She knew who John Murphy was. Dangerous sure, but he was her friend.

"Yeah well, something came up and we need some place to lay low."

In an instant the playful gleam left Blake's eyes. His expression hardened and he glanced between the 2 of them.

"Got anything to do with why he looks like someone used his face as batting practice?" Suddenly self conscious, Clarke pulled the hoodie up over her head in an attempt to hide her face. Days may have passed since Finn had done exactly that but her face was still a mess. Bruises and cuts spread out across her features. The eye that had swollen shut she could actually see out of again but it still throbbed and looked gross. If these were woman talking infront of her they never would have mentioned it. Just another way people here in Arkadia were different then the people on the east side.

"It's a long story Bells." Murphy said simply. That seemed enough for Blake. On the ride up Clarke didn't realize what kind of relationship Murphy and this Blake guy had. Nothing had been disclosed by the way he had spoken about him. It had seemed like a vague acquaintance but watching them now it was clearly more then that.

"Okay. I'm guessing the 2 of you need some place to stay and you want your old job back?"

"You know I was the best second hand you ever had." The confidence dripping from Murphy's voice was laughable, but Blake seemed to eat it up. Clarke wasn't sure what being Second hand to Bellamy Blake entailed but she was certain it couldn't be any good. Not if he was half as scary as Murphy had made him out to be.

"You are going to be the death of me Murphy." Blake said with a shake of his head. "Lincoln isn't going to be happy you are back you know."

"I know. That's what I have you for. Smooth things over for me while I do your dirty work."

He barked out in laughter. The sound making Clarke jump. She fought the urge to place her hand over her heart to still her rapidly beating heart. A motion that was not missed by the boy standing in front of them. He eyed her suspiciously, a quirk of his brow as she pretended not to be so shaken by the sudden loud noise.

"Everything done in this town is dirty work." He quipped. Clarke couldn't help but feel like an outsider to this conversation. Which wasn't surprising considering this was her first time ever in this town. She was by all means an outsider. She just hoped she didn't stick out too much. "What about him. What can he do."

Murphy drew his attention away from Clarke with the flaring of his arms. Clarke was thankful for it. Not that she'd be thankful for what he said next.

"Clark is good with cars. And a quick learner. Show him something once and he can do it better then you the next time." She tilted her head, hiding her face under the cover of the hoodie. She could feel her cheeks burning. It couldn't be true, she just picked things up fast. Especially when there was motivation to learn.

"Except how to take a punch apparently." That was the second time he had brought up how her face looked. God it must be worse the she had. Not that she would really know. She'd been avoiding a mirror the last couple days.

"Yeah, No one ever taught him to fight." Murphy muttered.

"We can change that." There was a vindictive promise in his words and that terrified Clarke more then anything else had so far. To be fair the whole exchange had been pretty tame compared to what she had been thinking. There were no unconscious bodies littering the floor and the blood stains seemed to be minimal at most. "Go on upstairs to my apartment while I talk to Lincoln. Don't get too comfortable though. The moment I talk to him I'm putting you two somewhere dank and dirty."

Murphy smiled, putting his hands on Clarke shoulder and twisting her around. She had no idea where she was going but luckily Murphy did.

"Thanks boss. See you in a few."

 ** _A/N: So this fanfiction was actually inspired by a book series I really like. Welcome to The Point by Jay Crownover. I hope you like where this is going as much as I do. I'm weak for the whole disguises self as opposite gender trope. Also I doubt I'll be able to keep updating it as fast as I am today, I've just been on a roll since I started writing it 2 days ago. I might even have another chapter to update today. Get Ready for Bellamy's POV guys!_**


	3. Mistakes

**Chapter Two**

Allowing Murphy and Clark to stay in his home was stupid idea. Clark was basically mute but at least he picked up after himself and when ever he was around Bellamy saw a different side to John. He was unlike the boy who had left this place years ago. Protective and overbearing were the only words that came to mind when Bellamy tried to explain the situation to his sister.

Not that Octavia cared much about John. She was still bitter over something neither one of them would tell Bellamy about. He just hoped it didn't come to bite him in the ass. They could keep their secrets as long as it did not mess with business. Bellamy did not want to get in the middle of that drama, not when half of it was currently living in his house.

Clark though intrigued him. The boy made himself at home in Bellamy's apartment quite quickly. Going through his DVD collection and was working his way through all the documentaries Bellamy had horded over the years. He remained quite still, much like a mouse, except Clark cleaned up after himself and ran from the room basically any time Bellamy walked in.

He was like a broken little bird.

Which was why Bellamy was surprised when one night when He and Murphy came back to the apartment to see the boy not make a move to hurry away. He stayed sitting on Bellamy's couch, his eyes locked on the screen.

Murphy said nothing to his cousin as he ran to the guest room, probably needing to blow off steam as much as Bellamy had. Normally he would be deep inside some nameless, faceless girl from the club but with guests he had been limiting himself and it was killing him.

Bellamy was headed towards his own bedroom when Clark spoke.

"You have a strange collection for someone who does what you do." Bellamy wouldn't have been certain the boy was talking to him if Clark had not turned around on the couch to look at him. His crystalline blue eyes expecting an answer. It was the first time the boy had said anything to him. Bellamy was beginning to think the boy was actually mute.

Bellamy walked over to the couch, glancing at the large screen which was playing his favorite 2 part documentary about World War 2. A smirk on his face as he approached the boy.

"What did you expect I'd have? Horror movies and thrillers?" He questioned. To be fair, most people never got the opportunity to see his collection of DVD's so Clark was the first person, other then his sister, to remark on how strange it was.

"I don't know, maybe." He answered, his fingers picking at the edge of his worn shirt that was obviously way too big for his slim frame. "I did not expect you to be a history buff though."

Bellamy barked out laughing unable to help himself. He half expect Clark to go running at the sound.

"Just wait till you get to the Greek mythology section. That'll explain some things about me." He teased. The boy cracked a smile for what was probably the first time since he and John had arrived. It was clear the motion pained the boy from the slight wince that come through in his eyes.

The boys face was looking better. Though the black eye and cut lip were being notoriously stubborn and seemed to refuse to heal. Bellamy had gotten his ass kicked enough when he was young to know how that could pain.

"I can't wait. Hopefully it pretty interesting as I've been pretty bored lately." Bellamy hadn't even thought about that. The boy hadn't seemed to leave the apartment since they've arrived. God no wonder he was making his way through Bellamy's collection in record time. There wasn't exactly a lot to do here. Bellamy kept things pretty basic. He didn't even have cable, just a collection of DVD's.

3 days here and Bellamy still hasn't made any attempt to make sure John's cousin knew how to defend himself. He'd need to know if he were going to survive in Arkadia. Well that would change now. As much as Bellamy wanted to do nothing but sit in his room, he couldn't leave Clark defenseless.

"Come on, Turn off the T.V and get up." He motioned, tapping the back of the couch. The boy nearly jumped out of his skin. This might be more then what Bellamy could handle. The skittish behavior had to stop, if anyone in town saw him react like that. Well let's just saw Clark would not last more then a few minutes outside.

The carefree expression that had been on his face was quickly replaced by fear and uncertainly but he followed directions. Quickly turning the Telavision off and pealing himself up off the couch. Clark joined Bellamy on the other side of the couch.

"What do you need me to do Sir?" He asked, his polite and over the top sign of respect made Bellamy want to laugh again but he couldn't not when he was about to take this boy down to the cage.

"Don't call me Sir Clark. I am not a good man." There was fear in the boys eyes. Good. Being scared was the only sure fire way to keep a child like him alive in this city. "I am going to teach you how to fight."

"Here?" Clark questioned, his eyes darting around the room, no doubt wondering if there was going to be room.

"No. We are going to the cage." The name would do little too ease the boy, which was kind of the point. The Cage sounded dreadfully terrifying and it kind of was. Most People went into the cage and came out different men, or woman in his sisters case. Though the warehouse the housed the cage was likely empty this time of day and would be for the next few hours. "Come on let's go."

The had been it for hours. The cage was going to open soon. Already people were starting to wonder in trying to get it open and ready for the fights that night.

Bellamy could tell Clark was getting frustrated. Murphy hadn't been lying, the boy was a quick learner but he obviously didn't have a malicious bone in his body and trying to get him to instigate something was wearing on both of them.

He stood, awkwardly on the far side, eyeing Bellamy as if he were trying to logic and straegise his next move. Bellamy swung out, missing the boys face on purpose but spurring the boy into action, even if that action was just to jump back.

"You are thinking too much." Bellamy chastised Clarke with a grunt. Easing himself out of his fighting stance to stare at him. Still, after almost getting hit again Clark didn't seem any more eager to come at him. This boy was going to be useless to all of them if he didn't learn that sometimes you couldn't wait for the fight to come to you. "Stop being a girl and come at me."

That seemed to get a reaction out of the boy. He gritted his teeth and stomped back over to Bellamy. His stance was shit but at least he seemed to be taking some incentive.

"Fighting is pointless." The boy groaned pushing past Bellamy. Well that wasn't exactly what he had been expecting and he wasn't going to let Clark leave without trying to take a swing at him at least. He gripped Clark's arm, snarling.

"We aren't done yet Princess." He mocked the boy, hoping to get a different type of reaction out of the boy. And it worked. Bellamy almost didn't see the elbow coming until it was too late. It clocked him on the side of the face with enough force that Bellamy could taste blood. It wasn't enough to cause any real damage but it was still enough to break the hold Bellamy had on his arm.

He smiled though Clark looked like he was about to piss himself. Shame crossed his face until Bellamy started chuckling. The shame turned to anger which was exactly what Bellamy wanted.

"You are a dick and a half." He sighed, slamming his hands into the door to the cage. Not that he needed to Bellamy hadn't closed it all the way when they first walked it.

"That's why the ladies love me." He shouted after the boy, realizing he was enjoying himself far more then he thought he would have. The whole back and forth thing with Clark was far more amusing then his normal routine. Scare, punch, repeat. To be quite honesty, Bellamy was getting kind of bored of it all.

"The ladies around here maybe. A quality girl will never fall for your bullshit." Bellamy took it back, maybe Clark did have a bit of malice hidden beneath that hipster haircut and baggy clothes. His comment actually stung.

"We aren't done yet!" Bellamy shouted after him, stopping the boy in his tracks. He could see Clark's sigh but he was a good little boy who followed directions well. He was back in front of Bellamy unhappy as the anger contorted his face. It was about time. "Seriously Clark? Get in your fighting stance." He demanded. The boy rolled his eyes, yet he moved the way Bellamy had showed him. Changing his center of gravity to make it more difficult for someone to just bowl him over.

His hands went up as Bellamy had shown him, to protect his face, but he was still holding his fists wrong, his thumbs tucked in and Bellamy sighed. He reached out moving Clarks hands in a way that if he actuall threw a punch would not result in him breaking his thumbs. Seriously how was this boy this clueless about fighting while being related to John?

By the time the Cage actually opened Clark could throw a decent punch. He was still putting too much energy into it and getting tired far too quickly, but if he was cornered in an ally he could defend himself well enough till someone could get to him. Not that Bellamy thought John would ever let Clark leave without either him or Bellamy with, but that would be a subject for another day.

He seemed to have grown more comfortable the more time they spent out of Bellamy's apartment. He was still tense and uptight, like his worse nightmare was going to walk in the room at any moment but he smiled more, even joked with a few of the girls serving drinks while the fights happened. Clark had been almost too eager to leave when the Cage opened but Bellamy insisted they stayed to watch.

"I don't understand, why would people want to watch something like this?" Clark questioned as one of the Contenders from Canada put a beat down on a Mountain man. Bellamy couldn't say he wasn't pleased to see the act. God knows the Mountain Men were getting too cocky as of late and could use a beat down to let everyone including them know they were fallible.

"Where did you grow up Clark?" He demanded, wondering not for the first time where this soft skittish boy had come from. The question seemed to have hit a nerve. Clark clammed right up, not for the first time. Whatever his back story was it was clearly not something he wanted to talk about. Again the voice in his head screamed ALARM. Bellamy quickly changed the subject. "They say a man can live his whole life without finding out he is a coward." He quoted an old American poet, not expecting the boy to have a clue as to what he was saying.

"Quoting John Berryman does not answer the question." Clark countered, surprising Bellamy. It was no secret between the 2 of them that he was the dork. He hadn't expected Clark to know the quote, let alone who had said it. Who was this person?

"Why do men watch sports, or women do what ever woman do. It's human nature to see a fight and feel the need to watch it. At least here the fighters are being paid to be watched." He answered with a simple shrugged, pushing his attention back on the fight. Not that it was much of one, the Mountain man was already tapping out. Pussy.

"So it's like theater. Something to distract the masses from the patheticness of their own dreary lives?" The words were so proper, Bellamy couldn't help but eye Clark. Not for the first time did he think there was no way this boy was a Murphy. Too refined, too polite even when saying things like that.

"That's one way to put it definitely." There was only one fight left tonight. Somehow they had been out of the apartment for hours and Bellamy should be dead tired after the day he had but he wasn't, though Clark looked about ready to drop. "Come on, Let's get you home before your Cousin wakes up and notices you aren't there. One day you are going to have to tell me what's going on there. I've never seen Murphy this protective over a person."

"It's a long story." Clark said simply not meeting Bellamy's eyes. Bellamy didn't doubt that. With the Murphy's everything seemed to be a long story.


End file.
